Wednesday

Apr 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 23, 2008 at 8:17 PM

A retired Lanphier High School math teacher recently was given a moment in the spotlight by one of her former students, Philadelphia 76ers forward Andre Iguodala, who praised her in the April 21 issue of Sports Illustrated.

A retired Lanphier High School math teacher recently was given a moment in the spotlight by one of her former students, Philadelphia 76ers forward Andre Iguodala, who praised her in the April 21 issue of Sports Illustrated.

The teacher, Kris White, used to yell to Iguodala to “think parabola” as he prepared to shoot free throws during Lanphier basketball games, Iguodala recalled in the interview.

“That helped,” Iguodala said. “I still use what Ms. White taught me.”

White, who retired in 2004 after 37 years of teaching, has fond memories of the basketball star, who was a pre-calculus student of hers during his junior year. Iguodala graduated in 2002.

“He was very bright,” she said. White said Iguodala would visit her other classes and finish whatever problem she was in the middle of explaining on the chalkboard.

“He would make a great teacher,” she said.

She also must have told that to Iguodala because he mentions in the interview that White told him he should become a teacher.

White said Iguodala kept in touch with her when he attended the University of Arizona and has mentioned her in previous interviews.

She said she had a habit of yelling math tips to many athletes in the middle of games, including Lanphier graduate Rich McBride, who went on to play for the University of Illinois.

“I would say lots of silly things to help them remember, usually to try to come up with practical things, to help them see that math was practical,” she said.

She knows her students heard her.

“I have a teacher’s voice — very loud,” she said.

White said she learned about the Sports Illustrated article when her nephew, Lanphier track athlete Warnether Banks, told her about it. She first saw a copy of the magazine on Sunday, when a former custodian who attends her church brought it for her.

In the April 21 issue of Sports Illustrated, Andre Iguodala is profiled in a one-page feature that quotes him on various topics, including which books he has read recently, his game-study habits, his decision to leave college his sophomore year and the influence of his former Lanphier High School math teacher, Kris White: